This chapter has actual duel, so please sit back and enjoy!
Chapter 18-Test of Worthiness-
One week has passed. Muiko, Mike, and Hannah, accompanied with Ace, were waiting for the airplane to arrive at the airport. "The airplane for Japan at Gate 5 has arrived. Please wait for all the arriving passengers onboard get off the plane and the attendant to call when it is ready to board the plane." The announcer said through the intercom.
Shortly afterward, everyone got on the airplane. For Muiko's group, they were put in the first class. "This is just so awesome!" Hannah said excitedly. "I can't believe we are in the First Class!"
"It is really amazing. Thank you so much for inviting us, Ace." Mike thanked to Ace.
"It is no problem." Ace replied. "I would do anything to help a fellow friend of Muiko."
He stared at Muiko admirably as Hannah puffed out her cheeks in anger, feeling jealous and Mike just sighed.
They took the seat, and the plane began to move, and shortly afterward, it took flight.
As the flight travel continued, Muiko thought about how she can get stronger. She brought her Deck, and an extra card holder for the cards that Mike gave her from his present she received. She recalled all of her past duels, and tried to find out what was her strength, weaknesses, and strategies she used. 13 hours later, they arrived in Japan.
Muiko and others exited the airplane, got their suitcase, and leave out of the airport. Hannah stretched her arms in the sunlight. "Alright! We are in Japan!" Hannah said joyfully. Ace, who now wore a shade, called a taxi (he is fluent in Japanese). The taxi arrived shortly. It had enough space for all four of them to fit, including the driver even though it looked small from the outside. They drove off as they looked over the buildings of Tokyo from the hallway.
The buildings were tall, silver in color, and looked very high-tech and modern. There were many fun and interesting advertisements on some of the buildings. Some were about Dueling and Duel Monsters. Others were about advertisement for some products. There was even one about an anime where a man with golden spiky hair throwing fist as a purple-furred cat figure grabbed the fist to block the man's attack, and another one about a yellow mouse creature with red pouch for its cheeks, releasing little electricity for its cheeks. About 10 minutes later, they were driving through the road in the forest. The trees were very green and tall.
"So, where are we going, Ace?" Mike asked.
"We are going to the Mystic Grove Inn and stayed there for 3 days." Ace answered. "It is a very famous inn, about over some hundred years old. It is famous for their hot springs. It is kind of hard to get reservations, but my parents managed to get it for us."
"Wow! That's so sweet of them!" Hannah remarked. "I better say thank you for them if I want to marry Ace." She said the second sentence in her mind, although Mike had a feeling she was thinking exactly what she was thinking as he sweat dropped and made a very weird facial expression. Muiko quietly watched the tress as they drove, but while she was looking, she noticed something strange; a brownish tree-like figure watching them. She turned around to her back, but no longer see the figure.
They arrived at the Inn. It was made of logs as its sign board covered with vines, but still able to see the Inn's name. "Arigatou." Ace thanked to the driver in Japanese. The driver waved his hand and left immediately after they got their suitcase out from the back. There were some attendees and head lady attendee (known as Okami) were waiting for them.
"Welcome to Mythical Grove Inn!" They all said, bowing down to Muiko and the others.
"Wow! Very polite." Hannah surprised.
"It is a customary for the inn attendees to greet the guests by bowing their head down." Ace explained as they walked and entered the inn. Meanwhile, without everyone noticing, the same tree or plant-like figure watched them, especially on Muiko.
Two attendees led them to their room. The first one led Mike and Ace to their room, which was located on the left side while the girls were led by the second one to their room, which was located right next door. They went inside simultaneously. Hannah looked around, feeling both amazed and joyful. Muiko quietly put her suitcase in the closet. Hannah opened the sliding door, which led to a balcony. She took in the fresh air of the nature, which felt relaxing and saw the beautiful scenic view of the forest and mountains that surrounded them.
"Wow. This is so breathtaking." She commented with her eyes sparkled like a star. Few seconds later, Mike opened the door, and took some fresh air in and out from his and Ace's room balcony.
"It sure is beautiful." Mike said.
Later that day, they left their room along their baggage and went to take the hot springs.
"Man, this feels good." Mike said, as his face blushed in red and feeling relaxed.
"Indeed." Ace agreed as he sat in the hot bubbly spring water. The bath itself was big as an outdoor pool you can buy for your home.
"Isn't this relaxing, Muiko?" Hannah asked as she laid on her arms while she's in the hot spring.
Muiko, who was being quiet all this time, felt very soothing as she washed her arms in the hot spring. After they took the hot springs and washed themselves, they headed to the diner hall, where they can eat and sat together at their own table with other hotel guests. They wore a traditional yukata, blue for boys and pink for girls respectively. Yukata, similar to kimono, is a traditional Japanese cloth that Japanese Inn provide to guest and wear while they are at the Inn.
The table was covered with so many delicious seafood and other Japanese dishes, like bowl of rice, Miso soup, Tokanstu meat, and fired shrimps. Hannah was about to drool like a waterfall, but controlled her temptation in front of Ace. As they ate, the taste of food felt so amazing and fresh like if they haven't eaten food for week. It was that delicious.
"This is so gooooodd!" Hannah said, almost crying.
"I never tasted food this so great!" Mike noted as she took mouthful of the shrimp.
"The cuisines they serve here are just brilliant, pretty, and most importantly, mouth-watering delicious!" Ace nodded as he chewed.
Muiko kept her comment to herself as she enjoyed in her eating.
"I am very glad to hear that, young guests." A voice said.
They turned around and saw an old lady in a kimono dress. She hold a brown cane with some green vines tangled around it. She looked old, but also looked very sharp.
"Oh, nice to meet you, madam." Ace greeted. "I am quite surprised that you just spoke in English."
"Well, I do know few languages. It is a duty of the head mistress of the inn to know the guests' languages to understand their 'tongue.'" She stated.
"Wait!? You are the head mistress here?" Mike gasped.
"That's right, young man. Where is my manner now? My name is Sato." Sato introduced. "It is pleasure to meet you."
They bowed down to her as a way to greet her for first time.
"So, what do you four brought here for?" She asked.
"We're on our vacation. And all thanks to Ace here!" Hannah answered.
"I see. I see. That is very wonderful!" Sato said, grinning.
"Ms. Sato. As you're the head mistress, I would like to hear about the legends about this inn, if you don't mind." Ace asked.
"Legends?" Mike puzzled.
This also caught Hannah and Muiko's attention as well.
"Ho, ho! I see you heard about a thing or two about this lovely inn. I suppose it would be fine if I tell you four about the story of this inn and the forest that surrounds it." Sato remarked. "Ahem! You see. This forest is old as Japan itself. As the ancestor of this land remembered, this forest holds many secrets and ties to the mythical realm of our world, completely different from the material or physical realm that we, people or humans live in. This forest is inhabited by the mythical plant beings known as 'Mystical Grove.'"
"Mystical Grove?" Hannah said with a question mark in her imagination.
"Mystical Grove is a special race of creature that lives in nature, tied with the spiritual realm that co-exist within our world. Some are small, cute, and gentle like small animals while there are some who are big, strong, and play the role as guardian who protect the nature itself. This inn was built little over 100 years ago, but my ancestors have protected this forest for many generations." Sato explained, memorizing.
"Wow. That is pretty neat story, Ms. Sato!" Hannah amazed.
"I never knew that this forest is very important." Mike noted.
"Thank you all. I knew you four youngsters would understand. That is why we, as people, should protect nature. It is equally important as our life. Now, I hope you all enjoy the rest of your time here at Mystical Grove Inn." She nodded with a grin.
Before she left, she turned her head for a moment. "Oh yes! I almost forgot! The other part of the legend! According to it, there is also a very special Deck hidden somewhere in the forest." After stating that, she left slowly until she completely gone.
"A Deck?" Hannah pondered.
"When she meant by 'Deck', does she mean duel cards?" Mike asked.
"Most likely, but what she said there, I have little doubt about it." Ace said.
Muiko stayed quiet as she think about Sato's tell of the legends. Later that night, they went to bed in their room. As for Muiko, she was still thinking about the legends. "A Special Deck hidden in this forest?" She asked to herself. She memorized the mysterious tree or plant figure in the forest when she saw it while they were driving to here. She wondered if that figure was one of the Mystical Grove creatures that Sato explained earlier. While thinking about it, she eventually went into a slumber as her eye lid closed slowly.
The sun began to rise, but the surrounding area of the inn was soon covered by mists. It was an early morning."Muiko...Muiko..."
Muiko opened her eyes immediately and got out of her bed. She heard the voice, and strangely enough she heard it from her Deck itself.
"What the? My Deck?" She said, looking puzzled.
"Let's go...Muiko." The voice of her Deck said.
Muiko gave a puzzling look at her Deck she carried, but decided to do so what it says.
She changed her clothes and wore a light jacket. She headed outside as she hold her Deck. She noticed the mists around the inn. Her Deck began to glow like a flashlight. The ray of light shined through the mist, leading to a specific direction.
"Go, Muiko." The voice said softly.
She followed the direction of the ray of light, As she walked and followed the ray of the light until the end, she was now in the forest and going deeper into it. About an hour or so, she arrived at a strange place. She stood in a huge circular area with some kind of small shrine standing in the middle of the area. The ground was flat with no plants or even grass. Surrounding outside the circular area, there were abundant of plants and trees. The shrine itself was covered with vines.
"What is this place?" She asked. She approached the shrine closer to examine it. She noticed a little door, and saw through the hole on the door. She noticed something familiar. It looked to be a stack of card, or most likely, a Deck of cards. She opened the door slowly, and took out the Deck carefully. Suddenly, the Deck glowed in green light, making Muiko blocked her eyes, protecting them from the light.
Next thing she knew, she felt a presence of someone or something behind. She turned around quickly, and meet a very strange creature. It looked like a tree with two green eyes, but this one had no leaf at all. When she looked at its bottom half, it had no feet, but stump growing out of the ground. It was literally a tree with eyes.
"Who..Who are you?" She asked, sounded little studded.
"I am the guardian of this shrine." The tree being answered.
"The guardian? Wait..." Muiko remarked. "I think I know you. You look like Copy Plant."
"You may think of whatever I am, but I have the ability to change form and even copy other beings' form and shape." It said as it demonstrated its ability. It suddenly changed it forms, now looking exactly like Muiko.
Muiko gasped at it, looking at the copy version of herself as if looking herself in the mirror. "You..hold the deck of this mystical forest." It noticed.
"This?" Muiko asked, holding up the Deck.
"Yes. I see." It exclaimed softly. "Very well. I shall test you to see if you are worthy to use that Deck."
Suddenly, the surrounding area changed. The ground shook like an earthquake and in few seconds, the area turned into a Duel arena. The Copy Plant being was at the other side while Muiko was at the opposite side. It changed into a different form. This time it had a form of a woman with dark burgundy hair. The hair color turned dark red. Muiko felt something strange about this unique form (The form looked exactly like Akiza Izayoi from Yu-Gi-Oh 5D) as if she have a feeling that she might have seen the form before. She did not know why she have this feeling, but ignored it for now as she activated her Duel Disk.
She looked at the Deck that she retrieved from the shine. "Place that Deck and shuffle it with yours." The Copy Plant stated.
She nodded and shuffled it with her personal Deck and inserted it in her Duel Disk.
"DUEL!" They both yelled as their Life Points risen to 4000, starting the Duel.
"I will go first." Muiko said. She looked at the five cards she drawn from her Deck. One of them was a card that she never seen before. It was one from the Special Deck. It looked like an avocado seed with a green sprout on its top and beady black anime eyes.
It gave a wink at Muiko. It seemed that it want to go out in the field. "You want to go out there?" She asked to the card. It nodded in response. "Alright, then. I normal summon Mystical Grove Little Seedling in attack mode!"
The little avocado appeared, jumping in excitement. "I see that you summon one of the cards in the Deck." The Copy Plant being noted in a female voice.
"It asks me, too." Muiko replied. "Next, through its effect, I special summon E.B. Iron Hammerhead in attack mode!" A familiar hammerhead shark, made of iron body, swam next to the avocado. It jumped happily to greet it as Iron Hammerhead replied with a roar and nodding its head. "When I special summon Iron Hammerhead through its effect, it inflicts damage equals to its ATK. Go, Iron Hammerhead! Use Iron Headbash!"
It swam fast like torpedo at her opponent, but it smirked, catching Muiko's attention. "I activate the effect of a monster from my hand!" The Copy Plant being stated as wall of green vine with spikes blocked Iron Hammerhead's attack. "The card I activated is Green Wall of Vines. I can send this card to Graveyard from my hand to negate an effect damage and strike it back to my opponent."
Bunch of needles shot from the monster to Muiko as she quickly blocked it with arms crossed. "Aaaah!" Muiko screamed. Little Seedling went to her side to help her out.
"Thanks, but I will be alright." She said as she uncrossed her arms. "I set one card and end my turn."
Muiko ended her turn as the card in front of her that she set faded away. The Copy Plant carefully drew its card and added to its hand.
"I see. So, you can call upon the Elemental Beast." The Copy Plant being nodded.
"You know about my archtype?" Muiko asked calmly.
"I have seen many things throughout time, but enough with the idle chat. We have an important duel to resume." She said. "I normal summon Blue Rose Dragon!" The Copy Plant being stated.
A dragon with wings made of blue rose petals appeared on her side, roaring strongly like a true dragon with 1600 ATK. It scared Little Seedling, which hide behind Muiko. Her Iron Hammerhead, on other hand, stood defensively.
"I declare my Blue Rose Dragon to attack your Little Seedling!" The Copy Plant being declared as her dragon launched for an attack. Little Seedling got scared and began running away, but chased by the dragon and eventually caught, and destroyed it. Muiko's Life Points decreased to 1900, but remained calm about it.
"I activate Mystical Grove Little Seedling's ability!" Muiko announced. "When it is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, I gain 500 Life Points." Her Life Points risen to 2400.
"You use its effect well, but it will take more than just using its effect to prove you're worthy! I set two card and end my turn." She ended.
"My turn! I draw!" Muiko drew her card. The card she drawn was another new one. This one depicted a giant made completely out of cacti. It had a large light green torso, stubby dark green legs, huge dark green thick arms, and a small dark green head with a single blue eye. Its covered with large yellow needles, especially two large spikes on the back, giving a V-shaped look. The card frame was half orange and light green.
"Okay, then. I tribute my E.B. Iron Hammerhead to advance summon Mystical Grove Cacti Guardian in defense mode!" Muiko stated as her classic monster swallowed into a light green portal and the new monster came out of it. It roared strongly as it stood up straight defensively like a real cactus. It has 2450 DEF.
"She summoned another Mystical Grove. Could that Deck making her draw its card on purpose?" The Copy Plant being pondered.
"I end my turn." She ended very quick.
"Very well. My turn! Draw!" Copy Plant being said as she drew her card. She grinned at the card she drawn. "I activate one of my face-down cards. Trap, open! Tangling Vines!"
The card flipped up, revealing it to be an image of some Normal Monsters being tangled by vines as they are being suffocated. "As long as this card remains face-up, you lose 300 Life Points during each of your Standby Phase." She explained as the vines tangled Muiko's monsters.
Cactus Guardian remained strong defensively as the vines tangled its body. The vines tangled Muiko up to her stomach as they gripped strongly. "Arrgh!" She granted.
"Next, I activate my second set card. Trap, open! Imperial Custom!" She followed up. Muiko remembered that card very well.
"I then normal summon Level 3 Tuner monster, Twilight Rose Knight!" A knight with dark purple armor appeared next to her Blue Rose Dragon. "I tuned up my Level 3 Twilight Rose Knight with Level 4 Blue Rose Dragon! Dragon that blossom as the queen rose of the great garden! Tangle this world with your vines of beauty and fear! Synchro Summon! Descend! Level 7! Black Rose Dragon!"
A dragon with huge wing made of red violet petals and black tail with spikes appeared as it roared in the field. Its roar was loud that it echoed throughout the forest as wind blew. Muiko covered herself as she gritted her teeth.
"Black Rose Dragon!? I knew that you will summon that monster right after I saw you summoned Twilight Rose Knight!" Muiko noted, sweat dropping a little.
"I see that you are knowledgeable about Black Rose Dragon. She is the strongest monster in this forest! And, she will test to see if you are worthy to use the Mystical Grove Deck!" Copy Plant Being exclaimed as Black Rose Dragon roared in agreement.
Muiko is now in a very troubling situation. What kind of power that this dragon hold? How will it test Muiko!? Will she prove she's worthy of using the secret power of Mystical Grove Deck!? What will happen next?!
New Cards Cheat Sheet:
Green Wall of Vines-Level: 2 Attribute: EARTH Type: Plant/Effect ATK/DEF: 500/1000 Effect: Send this card from your hand to the Graveyard when you were about to take an effect damage by card effect. Negate it and inflict it back to your opponent instead.
Mystical Grove Little Seedling-Level: 2 Attribute: LIGHT Type: Plant/Effect ATK/DEF: 300/1000 Effect: When this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, gain 500 Life Points. By removing this card in your Graveyard from play, gain 500 Life Points.
Mystical Grove Cacti Guardian-Level: 5 Scale: 8 Attribute: DARK Type: Plant/Effect ATK/DEF: 1400/2450 Effect: Send a card on the field to the Graveyard, and negate this card's destruction. This effect applies only to the owner's field. Pendulum Effect: Unknown
Tangling Vines-Type: Continuous Trap Effect: As long as this card remains face-up, your opponent loses 300 Life Points during his/her Standby Phase.
So, what do you all think? Did anyone notice the reference to Dragon Ball Z and Pokemon? What do you think of the introduction of Black Rose Dragon? I like give credits to pokemonking0924 for the Mystical Grove cards. Great new archtype for Muiko's Deck! Stay tune for the next chapter, and the end of the second story arc...